Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of waiting times at the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Chamber) on claimants’ financial wellbeing.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.
The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology. We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance in the Social Entitlement Chamber.
The Ministry of Justice has not conducted assessments of the impact of tribunal waiting times on claimants but we recognise the potential negative impacts and uncertainty for individuals waiting for their appeal to be resolved.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for hearings at the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Chamber).
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.
The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology. We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance in the Social Entitlement Chamber.
The Ministry of Justice has not conducted assessments of the impact of tribunal waiting times on claimants but we recognise the potential negative impacts and uncertainty for individuals waiting for their appeal to be resolved.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of sentences for people convicted of crimes involving breaches of trading standards.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice has made no assessment of sentencing for offending involving breaches of trading standards.
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts. Parliament has provided the courts with a broad range of sentencing powers to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders, including discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences and custodial sentences.
When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors. The courts also have a statutory duty to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trials being repeatedly adjourned on the mental health of victims of sexual violence.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the impact delays to court processes may have on victims of sexual violence. We are committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness - we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases; and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days to tackle the outstanding caseload and delays. We also commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims.
To ensure ongoing communication with victims in the pre-trial period, every Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) area now has at least one dedicated Victim Liaison Officer in its rape and serious sexual offences unit. Pre-trial meetings are also offered to all adult victims of these crimes and the CPS has also delivered trauma-informed training to staff as part of their Victim Transformation Programme.
The Ministry of Justice funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day emotional and practical support to victims who are witnesses. This may include providing information about the court and its processes, facilitating explanations around any delays and accompanying the witness (if allowed by the court) into the court room when they give evidence.
This year, to help support the wellbeing of sexual violence victims, we have protected dedicated Ministry of Justice Violence Against Women and Girls victims spending, maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support. This includes the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund grant, which directly supports specialist sexual violence services.
The funded services, which include advocacy and counselling support, can be accessed at any point. This includes supporting victims to continue their criminal justice system journey if their trial has been delayed or adjourned.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many criminal trials involving charges of sexual violence have been adjourned due to insufficient courtroom time in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Data on trials that have been adjourned due to insufficient court time is not held by the Ministry of Justice. Related data regarding trial effectiveness can be found here: trials_tool.xlsx.
We recognise the impact on victims when trials do not proceed as planned. The Ministry of Justice funded Witness Service provides on-the-day emotional and practical support to victims who are witnesses. This may include providing information about the court and its processes, facilitating explanations around any delays and accompanying the witness (if allowed by the court) into the court room when they give evidence. To ensure ongoing communication with victims in the pre-trial period, every Crown Prosecution Service area now has at least one dedicated Victim Liaison Officer in its rape and serious sexual offences unit. Pre-trial meetings are also offered to all adult victims of these crimes.
This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. The scale of cases entering the courts is now so great that, even with the Crown Court sitting at a historically high level, this would not be enough to make meaningful progress on reducing the outstanding caseload and bring down waiting times. It is clear that we must go further and do things differently if we are to deliver swifter justice and long-lasting change for victims.
That is why the Government asked Sir Brian Leveson to chair an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, to propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims. Part one of the Review has been published. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals before setting out the Government’s full response in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) protect the rights and (b) support the wellbeing of victims of sexual violence when trials are (i) delayed and (ii) rescheduled.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the impact delays to court processes may have on victims of sexual violence. We are committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness - we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases; and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days to tackle the outstanding caseload and delays. We also commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims.
To ensure ongoing communication with victims in the pre-trial period, every Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) area now has at least one dedicated Victim Liaison Officer in its rape and serious sexual offences unit. Pre-trial meetings are also offered to all adult victims of these crimes and the CPS has also delivered trauma-informed training to staff as part of their Victim Transformation Programme.
The Ministry of Justice funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day emotional and practical support to victims who are witnesses. This may include providing information about the court and its processes, facilitating explanations around any delays and accompanying the witness (if allowed by the court) into the court room when they give evidence.
This year, to help support the wellbeing of sexual violence victims, we have protected dedicated Ministry of Justice Violence Against Women and Girls victims spending, maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support. This includes the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund grant, which directly supports specialist sexual violence services.
The funded services, which include advocacy and counselling support, can be accessed at any point. This includes supporting victims to continue their criminal justice system journey if their trial has been delayed or adjourned.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in bringing historical child sexual violence cases to trial.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is focused on delivering meaningful change for victims of child sexual violence. In April, we published our plan for responding to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s (IICSA) recommendations.
In line with recommendations from IICSA, the Government has announced the removal of the three-year limitation period for personal injury claims brought by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in respect of their abuse. This reform also provides express protection for the right to a fair trial, with the burden falling on defendants to show that a fair trial is not possible. This change is intended to reduce the trauma survivors face when seeking justice and ensure that more cases can proceed without unnecessary procedural barriers. This reform is part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently being considered in Parliament.
We are also committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness - we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases; and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days. We also commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims, including for victims of sexual violence. We will respond to the recommendations in the Independent Review of Criminal Courts in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce delays in the (a) processing and (b) hearing of cases at the First-Tier Tribunal.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government inherited a broken justice system with record and rising court backlogs. We are determined to reverse these trends in this Parliament. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity by:
We expect these actions to have a positive effect on timeliness performance.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to increase the number of judges to help reduce the backlog of court cases.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are continuing to invest in high volume, regular judicial recruitment of around 1000 judges and tribunal members each year.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she plans to take to tackle the backlog of court cases involving violence against women and girls.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The judiciary prioritises cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, which includes victims of violence against women and girls.
We have increased Crown Court funding, bringing courts to their highest capacity in almost a decade.
We look forward to Sir Brian Leveson’s recommendations on once in a generation court reform, due in late Spring.